IN THE POSTSEASON: The Yankees clinched a postseason berth with yesterday’s win and the Angels’ loss. It?marks the Yankees’ 51st postseason appearance, most for any MLB franchise, and their 17th postseason appearance in the last 18 years. Joe Girardi has become the fourth Yankees manager to lead the team to four consecutive postseasons, joining Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel and Joe Torre.

THE CAPTAIN: According to Elias, Derek Jeter’s 213 hits are the most in a season by a player who entered the year with 3,000 or more career hits, surpassing Ty Cobb’s previous mark of 211 hits in 1922 and ‘24.

NUMBERS GAME: Outside of Cody Ross and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, none of the Red Sox starting position players has more than five home runs this season, and only one of those has more than three. Four of their final five hitters are batting below .200.

UPDATE, 7:35 p.m.: Sabathia leaves a runner stranded at third base and the game is still scoreless heading into the bottom of the second. Need some offense (how many times has that been true lately?).

UPDATE, 7:38 p.m.: There’s the offense. A long home run for Cano for a 1-0 Yankees lead. That’s his 31st of the season.

UPDATE, 7:43 p.m.: Add a two-run shot by Granderson and it’s 3-0.

UPDATE, 7:45 pm.: Looks like a Red Sox fan tried to interfer, but it also looks like Martin’s ball legitimately went out for a 4-0 lead. Hard to tell though, might have hit the top of the wall. Couldn’t definitively argue with either call.

UPDATE, 8:01 p.m.: Impressive. The Yankees have knocked Buchholz out in the second inning. They’ve scored seven runs this inning, and now it’s Alfredo Aceves — of all people — coming in to pitch.

UPDATE, 8:06 p.m.: Good grief. Welcome back Teixiera. There’s a two-run homer, his 24th of the season, and it’s a 9-0 Yankees lead with two outs in the second.

UPDATE, 8:09 p.m.: Third time in Yankees history that they’ve hit four homers in a single inning, and Swisher nearly made it five homers in the inning. If he’d gone deep there, the over-under on the number of time “bro” would have been said in the postgame interview would have been off the charts!

UPDATE, 8:53 p.m.: Sabathia through the fifth with a 9-1 lead, meanwhile the out-of-town scoreboard shows the Orioles have come back to tie the Rays at 1.